Rajasthan Government and Politics

The state of Rajasthan has a bicameral legislature-the Vidhan Sabha- Legislative Assembly and the Vidhan Parishad- Legislative Council.

Vasundhara Raje is presently the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. She was sworn as the first woman Chief Minister Rajasthan on December 8, 2003. The Governor of Rajasthan is Margaret Alva while Chief Secretary of the state is CK Mathew.

The state with an area of 3, 42,239sq.km is divided into two types of constituencies- - the Parliamentary Constituency and the Assembly Constituency.

There are twenty-five Parliamentary Constituencies and two hundred Assembly Constituencies in its thirty-two districts. The Deputy Commissioner acts as R.O (Returning Officer) who is responsible for conducting elections in Rajasthan.

The predominant political parties in the state are the Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Other parties of Rajasthan include Communist Party of India (Marxist),Bahujan Samaj Party, Indian National Lok Dal , Janata Dal (United),Lok Jan Shakti Party, Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch.

The Judiciary of Rajasthan consists of the High Court with its head quarters at Jodhpur and its bench in Jaipur, the Subordinate Judicial Service or the District Courts and Lok Adalats. The Rajasthan High Court exercises original jurisdiction in the state and came into existence on June 21, 1949 under the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949. At present, Rajasthan High Court has its principal Seat in Jodhpur with a bench in Jaipur, the state capital.

Rajasthan Police is the agency that enforces law for the state and currently has strength of 70000. The police administration encompasses 39 police districts, 711 police stations, 172 circles and 788 out-posts. There are also12 women Police Stations.

Rajasthan is one of the foremost states that initiated the system of local government and the first Panchayat was inaugurated by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on 2nd October 1959 at Naugaur. Currently Rajasthan has 32 districts that are divided into 241 tehsils, 237 Panchayat Samities , 9,184 village panchayats and 183 municipalities.

Election Constituencies

The Returning officer (R.O) of an Assembly or Parliamentary Constituency is responsible for conducting elections as per section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.In the case of Rajasthan, the concerned Deputy Commissioner acts as R.O. The work related to the Assembly and Parliament elections is supervised by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) creates the electoral rolls. In the case of Rajasthan, the area sub-divisional Magistrates or Additional District Magistrates perform the same task.

The Electoral Registration officer is responsible for the preparation of electoral rolls for a parliamentary / assembly constituency.

Rajasthan Parliamentary Constituencies

Rajasthan has 25 Parliamentary Constituencies that form a part of its thirty-two districts. The elected members from these constituencies become the members of Lok Sabha or the lower house of the Parliament. Rajasthan Parliamentary Constituencies comprise of eighteen General seats, four seats and three seats that are reserved for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes respectively.

Rajasthan Assembly Constituency

Rajasthan has 200 Assembly Constituencies. Rajasthan Assembly Constituencies consist of one hundred and forty-three General seats, thirty- three and twenty-four seats are reserved for Schedule Castes seats and Schedule Tribes respectively. In fact the Chief Minister of Rajasthan - Smt Vasundhara Raje of Bharatiya Janata Party is from the Jhalrapatan Assembly Constituency.

Politics

The representatives belong to various political parties which are but groups of people with similar ideologies and interests. These political parties need to register with the election commission which assigns them a symbol to contest the polls with.

A party that holds sway in 4 or more states is called a national party while that having representation in 3 or less is called a state party.

The majority party/coalition leader then extended an invitation from the Governor, the President's representative in the state to take on the position of the Chief Minister of the state.

The Chief Minister now selects able ministers to aid and facilitate the executive functions.

Smt Vasundhara Raje is currently the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state. She belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP who are currently the majority party in the assembly, holding 120 of the 200 seats.

Political Parties

The political parties of a state represent the various political ideologies of the people.

These parties compete in the elections and the citizen vote on the principle of universal adult suffrage.

The state legislature of the state of Rajasthan consists of 200 seats i.e. there are 200 assembly constituencies in the state.

The following is a list of the various political parties in the state legislative assembly and the number of seats they hold.

Name of Party

National/State

No of Seats

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

National

120

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

National

1

Independent

13

Bahujan Samaj Party

National

2

Indian National Congress

National

56

Indian National Lok Dal

State

4

Janata Dal (United)

State

2

Lok Jan Shakti Party

State

1

Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch

State

1

Total Number of Seats

200

Boards & Commissions

Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan-The Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan (BSER), since the last four decades has developed a dynamic system of academic excellence and different examinations. BSER was constituted in Jaipuron 4th December, 1957 in with the promulgation of the Rajasthan Secondary Education Act in 1957.However it was repositioned to Ajmer in 1961.It started functioning in the year 1973 with the present infrastructure and all its amenities.The BSER played an active role for the promotion and development of Secondary Education in Rajasthan, in more than 6000 schools situated in all the 32 districts of the state.

Board of Technical Education, Rajasthan- This board is engaged in imparting technical education in the state and is located in Presidency Road of Jodhpur. The board arranges for the Rajasthan Pre Entrance Test for Engineering, Architecture and Pharmacy known RPETEAP.

Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB)- Rajasthan Housing Board was set up on 24th February, 1970 by the Government of Rajasthan under the State Legislative Assembly Act No.4 of 1970. It is an independent body that caters to the increasing demand of housing in Rajasthan. The board initiated housing activities in seven cities of Rajasthan and during the last thirty years housing activities have been carried out in 49 cities, with more projects to come up.

High Court

High Courts are the most important civil courts that have original jurisdiction in the state of a country. There are 18 High Courts for 28 states and Union Territories in India. The Rajasthan High Court came into existence on June 21, 1949 under the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 and the first High Court of the state was inaugurated by His Highness Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Ji of Jaipur at Jodhpur on 29th August, 1949.

The erstwhile princely states of Rajasthan before 20th Century were under the suzerainty of the Rajput Chieftains who exercised Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over the state and its people. The Jagirdars or the Kotri Thikanas formed the heads. Later during the period of British imperialism, the state was authority of the Feudal Lords. Finally when India became independent, Rajasthan High Court was set up on 21st June, 1949 by the first Rajasthan High Court Ordinance. Actually at that time, five High Courts were functioning in the states of Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Matsya union with strength of twenty judges. These different jurisdictions were abolished by the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance, 1949 as it provided for a single High Court for the whole state.

Municipalities

Municipality is an organ of self government system that functions in the townships and urban areas. The Municipal area refers to the territorial domain of a Municipality as ascertained by the Governor of a state.

The Rajasthan Municipalities Act or the Rajasthan Act 38 was passed in 1959. The state of Rajasthan has 183 municipalities, a Municipal Council for a smaller urban region and a Municipal Corporation for a bigger urban area. The composition varies with the urban population of the state. In the year 2001, the urban population accounted for 23.38 per cent of the total population of the state of Rajasthan.

The Municipalities of Rajasthan functions as the institutions of self-government and the powers are devolved by the state. Articles 243 of the Constitution of India lay provisions regarding the election, composition, powers, and duration and so on of the Municipalities. The Municipalities are responsible for bringing out social and economic development and social justice. They are authorized to implement developmental schemes and also have the power to impose taxes.

Public Service Commissions

The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) is an independent body that came into existence about 50 years ago in Ajmer by the promulgation of an ordinance on 16th August, 1949. The primary role of the Commission is to give advice and to make recommendations in the making of appointments to public offices, to exercise disciplinary control over public officers and so on.

Formation -The Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) was established by the promulgation of an ordinance on 16th August, 1949. At the time of its formation, the Public Service Commission institution existed only in three states of Rajasthan- Jaipur, Jodhpur and Bikaner. However the ordinance which was promulgated in 1949 after the amalgamation of the princely states provided for the abolition of the existing Public Service Commissions or other same kind of institutions performing similar duties like those of the PSCs in the constituent states. The ordinance also provided for the functions of the Commission and its staff and also its composition.